Senators can't stay with Hurricanes

The Ottawa Senators will have to wait until at least Thursday before their first round playoff opponent is determined.

Yet after Tuesday’s 2-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes, they do know they can finish no better than seventh in the Eastern Conference and will either play the Boston Bruins or New York Rangers.

While the Senators (41-29-10) stood up physically against the Hurricanes (32-32-16) and showed a late offensive push, they were clearly suffering an emotional letdown after clinching a berth in the post-season on Sunday.

For all that, the Senators were in position to pull out a victory in front of 19,484 at Scotiabank Place, if not for a few questionable calls against Chris Neil.

Brandon Sutter broke a scoreless tie early in the second period on a shot which bounced off the shoulder of Senators goaltender Craig Anderson, over his head and into the net. Anderson accepted the blame, saying “it’s always tough when you throw the puck into your own net.”

Tuomo Ruutu padded the lead to 2-0, scoring on a power play goal with 2:06 left in the middle period.

Hurricanes goaltender Cam Ward was sharp, especially in the final moments of the third period as the Senators pressed. Ward made 38 saves and was only 11 seconds away from his sixth shutout of the season when Jason Spezza scored with Anderson on the bench for an extra skater.

Spezza’s goal kept the fans in their seats until the final seconds, but the turning point, as it turned out, was a disallowed goal, originally credited to Neil with seven minutes remaining in the first period. Ward stopped Nick Foligno on a 3-on-1 rush, but the puck bounced directly off the goaltender’s pads, off Neil’s shoulder and into the net. After a video review, the NHL’s war room determined that Neil intentionally directed the puck into the net.

Neil said “it was a tough one to get called back”, but accepted that “that’s what they’ve got video review for.”

Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson and coach Paul MacLean weren’t as diplomatic, failing to understand the difference between the Neil play and a goal Winnipeg’s Evander Kane was credited with on a similar play against the Senators last week.

The Hurricanes padded the lead to 2-0 when Ruutu scored with Nick Foligno serving a kneeing penalty. A third period push by the Senators, including a third period push which included a pair of questionable penalty calls against Neil, came up short.

MacLean credited Neil for being the team’s most competitive player, but was disappointed that the Senators allowed the Hurricanes to dictate the game early.

“We were playing from behind and when you play from behind, the result is not usually what you like,” he said. “They obviously were more competitive than we were and I think we got what we deserved.”

Anderson and Ward took turns keeping the game scoreless in the first period.

The Senators loss, coupled with the New Jersey Devils 3-1 win over the New York Islanders Thursday, means the Devils can finish no worse than sixth in the East.

Going into Thursday’s action, the Senators had an outside chance of catching the Devils. The Senators will officially clinch seventh spot – and face the Bruins – if they pick up a single point in their final two games. Yet it’s still possible for Washington Capitals to finish seventh and push the Senators into eighth and a match-up against the New York Rangers.

Game File

Why They Lost: Craig Anderson allowed a weak goal early in the second and an apparent tying goal from Chris Neil was disallowed.

Stud: Cam Ward, Hurricanes. When he’s on the top of his game, he’s one of the NHL’s best. On Tuesday, he was on the top of his game, making 38 saves. Who knows? If he played like this early in the season, the Hurricanes might be in the running for a playoff spot in the final week of the season.

Dud: Nick Foligno, Senators: How quickly things can turn. Ibn a few short minutes, Foligno went from helping to set up what looked like the tying goal from Neil to being the player who felt shame – sitting in the penalty box for a kneeing call, when Tuomo Ruutu netted a power play goal to give the Hurricanes a 2-0 lead.

ELEVENTH HEAVEN? Thanks to an online campaign by a few passionate Daniel Alfredsson fans, the crowd burst out with an “Alfie, Alfie” chant with exactly 11 minutes remaining in the first period. The chant was repeated, with more fans participating, with 11 minutes left in the second and third periods.

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